How do you deal with gusting cross wind?

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garyboy
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Re: How do you deal with gusting cross wind?

Post by garyboy »

I have noticed that every bike is different .. and you need to react/respond differently.
the Pan i used to have would just bank for me .. the wheels would move in the direction of the side wind, just the right amount to bank into the wind.
it had the holding weight too .. and road tyres of course.

as others have said tho .. different on an enduro/adv bike ..
MarkR
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Re: How do you deal with gusting cross wind?

Post by MarkR »

sprintster wrote:
MarkR wrote:
sprintster wrote:
MarkR wrote:Go faster. Velocity is your friend.
You'll have more gyroscopic stabilty from your wheels and your sheer mass will have more momentum.
Works better on faster heavier bikes :)
Some of us on here once rode across Denmark, bridges and all, in bloody awful winter gales, on overloaded mid size trailys.
There's always one! :whistle: :laugh:
When the gust that even your extra speed can't stop you going off course comes you will then be even further off course in the same amount of time!
Hasn't killed me yet.
Maybe you should try it before laughing.... ;)
Strangely enough slowing down hasn't killed me yet either,but if it does go pear shaped I've got more time to react to the situation.And why does dropping in the name of a foreign country make your point any more valid? What makes Denmark's wind any worse than Lincolnshire's for example? I'm sure wind being channelled through a narrow Scottish glen can be worse than blowing across the flats of Denmark. :unsure:
Because Denmark has been the place where I've had to consistently put up with very high wind for the longest period of time. Plenty of time to experiment with what worked. No option to stop as we had a ferry to catch at the other end.
I've been to Scotland plenty of times and it's topography means you usually get a break from the wind (however bad it is) at some point.
Never knowingly ridden in Lincolnshire though so maybe there is more wind there.
Strange you should find it inappropriate to mention riding in another country on this forum to be honest.
450 exc-f
r1100gs
-Ralph-
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Re: How do you deal with gusting cross wind?

Post by -Ralph- »

sprintster wrote:
MarkR wrote:
sprintster wrote:
MarkR wrote:Go faster. Velocity is your friend.
You'll have more gyroscopic stabilty from your wheels and your sheer mass will have more momentum.
Works better on faster heavier bikes :)
Some of us on here once rode across Denmark, bridges and all, in bloody awful winter gales, on overloaded mid size trailys.
There's always one! :whistle: :laugh:
When the gust that even your extra speed can't stop you going off course comes you will then be even further off course in the same amount of time!
Hasn't killed me yet.
Maybe you should try it before laughing.... ;)
Strangely enough slowing down hasn't killed me yet either,but if it does go pear shaped I've got more time to react to the situation.And why does dropping in the name of a foreign country make your point any more valid? What makes Denmark's wind any worse than Lincolnshire's for example? I'm sure wind being channelled through a narrow Scottish glen can be worse than blowing across the flats of Denmark. :unsure:
Exposed ridges are worse than glens, roads tend to follow the Glen so it's always head or tail wind. If you want wind in Scotland, try the road up to the Lecht ski centre from Balmoral over to Tomintoul. I'd say the Forth road bridge, or Erskine bridge, but they get closed in high wind so you can't ride them.

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-Ralph-
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Re: How do you deal with gusting cross wind?

Post by -Ralph- »

garyboy wrote:I have noticed that every bike is different .. and you need to react/respond differently.
the Pan i used to have would just bank for me .. the wheels would move in the direction of the side wind, just the right amount to bank into the wind.
it had the holding weight too .. and road tyres of course.

as others have said tho .. different on an enduro/adv bike ..
Absolutely. My XT600R with a 21 inch front wheel was horrible in wind, it'd tilt the bike to such and extent it felt like the front tyre was going to slide away from underneath you.

The Daytona with its narrow sports bike rake angle and faired sides, never feels like your going to crash, but you do need to be prepared for a sudden unexpected change in road position.

My Tiger is the best bike I've ever had for high wind, you just let it lean and compensate for it in your steering.


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Re: How do you deal with gusting cross wind?

Post by garyboy »

yes .. a high sitting 600 single on knobblies, with big wheels and long travel suspension .. is .. um .. `interesting` in the wind. Does not feel safe at all in side winds :dry:

my (ex) fireblade was the worst tho .. as it was so light [165kg], [and i had softened the suspension], .. in cross winds it would just blow across the road before i could even react .. and at double the speed of the TTR600.

interesting tho, the triumph.. never tried one.

I found that the biggest test for me, on how good a bike is, is the way it handles in the wind .. the severn bridge is a good test area :blink:


best windy bikes?
1. Pan 1100
2. FJ1200
3. GT750
4. er .. can't remember :S
-Ralph-
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How do you deal with gusting cross wind?

Post by -Ralph- »

So my advice for dealing with it....


Firstly, relax.... you dont need to go book a hotel, thats the opposite reaction, panic. When did you last hear of somebody crashing a motorbike due to high wind? If they did it wasnt the bike or the wind, it was them panicing, going stiff, and dealing with it wrong. Trust your bike, and trust your tyres.

Countersteer into the wind, and if you have to run along at a lean angle, do it, the tyres are under much more stress during a fast corner.

Turning into the wind Countersteer more and lean the bike in harder, again no worse than a fast corner.

Turning out of the wind, stop Countersteering, very gentle inputs to Countersteer the other way let the wind help the bike turn. It'll feel like you've not much lean angle, that's fine.

Give yourself lateral room to be blown off line by gusts, if that happens, don't panic, just adjust your Countersteer and bring the bike back into line.

If sustained heavy gusts are pushing you off line and you're finding it difficult to bring the bike back into line with countersteering alone, give it a tiny bit more throttle, not to go faster, just to compensate for the extra drag and fork dive, and just like you corner on a slightly positive throttle and it helps load the rear suspension, balance the weight of the bike between front and back, and push your bike round the turn, it will help balance your bike and push you into the wind in exactly the same way.

AND RELAX, you're not going to crash, it's just a bit of wind, your bike can handle it.

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sprintster
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Re: How do you deal with gusting cross wind?

Post by sprintster »

-Ralph- wrote:
sprintster wrote:
MarkR wrote:
sprintster wrote:
MarkR wrote:Go faster. Velocity is your friend.
You'll have more gyroscopic stabilty from your wheels and your sheer mass will have more momentum.
Works better on faster heavier bikes :)
Some of us on here once rode across Denmark, bridges and all, in bloody awful winter gales, on overloaded mid size trailys.
There's always one! :whistle: :laugh:
When the gust that even your extra speed can't stop you going off course comes you will then be even further off course in the same amount of time!
Hasn't killed me yet.
Maybe you should try it before laughing.... ;)
Strangely enough slowing down hasn't killed me yet either,but if it does go pear shaped I've got more time to react to the situation.And why does dropping in the name of a foreign country make your point any more valid? What makes Denmark's wind any worse than Lincolnshire's for example? I'm sure wind being channelled through a narrow Scottish glen can be worse than blowing across the flats of Denmark. :unsure:
Exposed ridges are worse than glens, roads tend to follow the Glen so it's always head or tail wind. If you want wind in Scotland, try the road up to the Lecht ski centre from Balmoral over to Tomintoul. I'd say the Forth road bridge, or Erskine bridge, but they get closed in high wind so you can't ride them.

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Fair enough I maybe should have said exposed ridges since I live 30 miles from the Lecht. :)
-Ralph-
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Re: How do you deal with gusting cross wind?

Post by -Ralph- »

sprintster wrote:I live 30 miles from the Lecht. :)
I hate you! LOL

One of my favorite roads in Scotland.

Actually, I'm not that envious, I've seen what the weather has been like in Scotland, and that's the bit I really don't miss now that I live in the South East, our rainfall is less than half of what it used to be in Scotland, but I do miss the roads, the scenery, and the outdoor activities.
"Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view" - Obi-Wan Kenobi
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Re: How do you deal with gusting cross wind?

Post by sprintster »

-Ralph- wrote:
sprintster wrote:I live 30 miles from the Lecht. :)
I hate you! LOL

One of my favorite roads in Scotland.

Actually, I'm not that envious, I've seen what the weather has been like in Scotland, and that's the bit I really don't miss now that I live in the South East, our rainfall is less than half of what it used to be in Scotland, but I do miss the roads, the scenery, and the outdoor activities.
Yeah,I am lucky.The rainfall isn't actually too bad in the east (excluding the last few weeks which have been exceptional)All the tourists head west as well so our roads are virtually empty. (thumbs)
-Ralph-
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Re: How do you deal with gusting cross wind?

Post by -Ralph- »

sprintster wrote:
-Ralph- wrote:
sprintster wrote:I live 30 miles from the Lecht. :)
I hate you! LOL

One of my favorite roads in Scotland.

Actually, I'm not that envious, I've seen what the weather has been like in Scotland, and that's the bit I really don't miss now that I live in the South East, our rainfall is less than half of what it used to be in Scotland, but I do miss the roads, the scenery, and the outdoor activities.
Yeah,I am lucky.The rainfall isn't actually too bad in the east (excluding the last few weeks which have been exceptional)All the tourists head west as well so our roads are virtually empty. (thumbs)
Yeah, the east does get it better than the west, but even compared to East Lothian or Fife, the rain where we are now is a completely different level. The below is such a common weather map, the whole country can be tipping it down and flooding is happening everywhere, but if you live East of the M1 and South of the A14, you escape the worst of it. My mother in Hereford gets much worse weather than us in Northampton.

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